Steven Mirtschin isn’t just a successful entrepreneur — he’s a powerhouse in the franchise world. Steven and his team have 19 Zambrero restaurants (and more on the way), plus four Anytime Fitness gyms. He has built a dynamic, fast-growing empire grounded in people, purpose, and performance.
So, what’s been the key to Steven’s incredible success? It turns out that smart partnerships and a diverse portfolio have been crucial.
Steven grew up in rural Queensland, carved a career in small business banking, and then dipped his toe into franchising in a joint venture with a mate. “A friend who owned several Subway stores told me franchising was a great way to scale — you grow by replication,” he says.
“So in 2009 I bought a Subway store, and a year later I bought another store for my parents to provide them with cashflow for their retirement.”
From fitness to food
That early experience lit the spark. Over the next eight years, Steven diversified across brands — from coffee shops to fitness.
“I met one of the key people in Anytime Fitness, and that encouraged me to look at something completely different; I was interested in a business with fewer people involved, and it was a growing business,” he says.
“I was not brave enough to do it by myself, so I found a friend keen to be a business partner; and now we have four gyms in Melbourne, 12 years later.”
Meanwhile, Steven was still running the coffee shops, and became a regular diner at a Zambrero restaurant next door to one of his cafes. He loved the fresh, Mexican-inspired food but it wasn’t until he chatted with a Zambrero franchisee that he considered the potential of the business.
The Zambrero business potential
“I looked at the numbers — revenue, cost of goods, staffing — and it stacked up. The business was lean, the model was smart, and it just made sense. I could see the opportunity to build some stores cost-effectively, to generate good sales and grow a business.”
Zambrero stood out as a business with excellent credentials — and not just financially. The Plate 4 Plate initiative, which matches every sale of a Zambrero meal with a plate of food donated to someone in need, was also a big attraction.
“We’d already been involved with child sponsorship programs, so finding a brand that aligned
with our values was a huge drawcard,” Steven says.
He bought the first of many Zambrero restaurants a decade ago. The opportunity in Zambrero was bigger than his resources so rather than building a couple by himself he teamed up with others to quickly scale.
Since then Steven has significantly expanded his portfolio, focused now entirely on Zambrero and Anytime Fitness.
Growth partnerships
Working with subgroups that have operational people focused on the franchises they part-own has been an effective way to manage the eight acquired and 11 Zambrero restaurants Steven and his partners have built from scratch.
“Every business we are involved with is in a partnership – I have seven partners across my different businesses. Multiple friends, bookkeeper, previous managers and my sister — in every case we’ve built something together.
“We say to our team, we are a group of families that do business together. That’s our superpower. It has given us different skill sets, and the ability to collaborate. Each business partner brings something different — finance, leasing, operations, project management,” he points out.
So how has Steven ensured he’s picked the right business partners?
“It’s been a bit fluid, I’ve gone into business with managers and long-term friends who have seen opportunity. What I look for is people with a long-term perspective, and to ultimately build a high level of trust with the people who work in our business.
“You can’t grow unless you trust your people. You have to let go to grow,” Steven says.
And it’s proved a smart move to diversify his portfolio.
“Zambrero and Anytime Fitness complement each other well, and I get a real buzz from the challenges of working across a couple of brands in diverse sectors.”
Steven has evolved from a hands-on franchisee to a purely strategic role.
Scaling the business
“Over time you learn new skills; there is no way I could have done this when I started out,” he says. “If you spend lots of time, 15 years, learning how to juggle, you can juggle a lot more balls by the end of it! Now I prioritise my time to focus on what helps us grow our business, I don’t micro-manage,” he says.
“We plan to keep growing, and we want to help more of our staff get into their own franchises so they can build their success,” Steven says.
Steven’s exceptional experience in multi-brand, multi-site franchising means, he’s well-placed to offer advice to current and prospective Zambrero franchise owners.
“Talk to franchisees, sit in the business and understand it,” he says. ”We look for a growing brand with opportunities to build locations, and we consider how the business is managed and owned; we prefer brands owned by people not the stock exchange, and we try and understand the metrics.
“Our success is based on lots of hard work, a number of failures (outside of Zambrero and Anytime Fitness), and a willingness to just keep going,” he says. “We’ve learned through trial and error that simple operations work best with our structure — and Zambrero fits that model perfectly.
“Zambrero is simple, scalable, and values-driven. It’s a brand we believe in — and that’s made all the difference.”
About Zambrero: Zambrero was established in Australia in 2005 and is now Australia’s largest Mexican quick service restaurant franchise, encompassing 300+ restaurants globally. With a focus on serving healthier for you feel good Mexican inspired fast food underpinned by a mission to end world hunger, it’s Plate 4 Plate initiative has donated over 94 million meals to those in need.